Sealed can



Nov. 17, 1931. H; SEBELL SEALED CAN Filed March 15, 1929 lnvenfor H orry Sebell WWW byfwwa Ahys.

Patented Nov. 17, 1931' STATES PATE Z OF I E V PARKER, or Lnxme'ron. fivmssnonusnrtrs SEALED CAN Application filed March 15, 1929. seriain'o. 347,254.;

This invention relates to sealed cans and has for its object to provide a novelsealed can in which the end of the canis provided wlth a zone in which the material of the can end ways. As herein shown the can end is 5 is softer and more easily out than the material of which the rest of the can end is made so that when the can is to be opened the end of the can may be cut from the can body along the zone of soft material thereby facilitating the open- 10 ing of the can.

' ing the can end In order to open the ordinary tin can it is necessary to force the can opener through the tin end of the can and then to cut the tin around close to the side wall of the can. This is sometimes a rather difiicult operation for an ordinary woman.

By my invention I propose to make the can end with a zone near its periphery in which the material is of such a nature that it can be easily punctured and cut thereby making it easy to open the can with an ordinary can opener or even with a knife.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a sectional perspective view of a can embodying my invention Fig. 2 is a view showing the can endbefore it is provided with the zone of soft material.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showprovided with the zone of soft material.

In the drawings 1 indicates a can body which may be of any suitable or usual material and 2 is the can end which is sealed to the can body. This can end is provided adj acent its peripheral portion with a zone 3 of material which is softer and more easily out than the material with which the body of the can is formed.

In an ordinary tin can the body portion 1 and the can end 2 will be made of sheet tin and in order to open the can it is necessary to puncture the sheet tin with the can opener and then to cut the sheet tin around adjacent its periphery. In the can herein illustrated. however,'the can end 2 is provided with the zone?) of the softer material such for instance as solderwhichcanbe easily cut.

This zone may be provided forin various formed with an'annular slot 4: adjacent its periphery and the slot l is with the soft material 3 such as solder. This slot A is made in sections which-are separated by bridge portions .5, said bridge portions5 integrallyconnecting the outside rim 6 of the can end to the central body portion thereof.

The outside rim 6 is soldered or otherwise secured to the can body 1 and by means of subsequently filled V this construction, in which the portion 6 exterior of the zone 3 is integrally connected with the central portion of the can end through the medium of the bridge portions.

5, a one-piece can end is provided which is formed inside of its periphery with a zone of soft material. A can end having this construction can be handled and soldered into the can in the same way that a nonperforated or solid can end can be and when the can end is completed there is provided a one-piece can end which embodies in its construction a zone of soft material that is inside of the peripheral edge of the can end. This zone is not continuous as it is divided into sections separated by the bridge portions 5, but 0 said bridge portions 5 do not interfere appreciably with the opening of the can.

To open the can the point of a can opener or knife or other sharp implement will be forced through the can at the zone 3, that is, '1. will be forced through the soft material constituting the zone 3. This can be easily accomplished by reason of the nature of said material. The can end may then be cut around along the zone and this cutting operation will be extremely easy because of the soft nature of the material fillingthe zone. The presence of the relatively narrow bridge portions 5 will not appreciably affect the easy cutting operation. In fact, these bridge portions may, if desired, be partially cut through when the can end is formed.

I claim: I

1. A can comprising acan body and a onepiece can end, said can end having within its peripheral outline a zone of material which is softer and more easily out than the material of which the rest of the can is made, and which is of substantially the same thickness as the body of the can end, said zone being wide enough to-form a cutting zone which may be cutby a can opener, and being exposed on both faces of the can end to substantially the same extent and also being traversed at intervals by bridge portions of material which is harder than'thesofter ma terial of said zone.

2. A can comprising a can body and acan end secured thereto, said can end being of a uniform thickness and having within its periphery an annular slot wider than the slit made by a can opener in cutting the end from a can, said slot being spanned by bridge portions integrally connecting theportion of the can outside of-the slot to that within the slot, and said slot being filled with a soft easy cutting materialwhich comes flush with both the top and bottom faces of the can end.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification. v p HARRY SEBELL. 

